The Good Wife: Episode 7

by odilettante

New hairstyles generally signify a new era, and for Hye-kyung, her bangs definitely mark a new phase in her life. It may not be exactly clear what this phase is yet, but Hye-kyung seems determined to prove she’s more than just “the good wife.” Almost as determined as Tae-joon is to win his trial, or Chief Prosector Choi is to make him lose the trial, or Guk-hyun is to maintain his corrupt control, or Joong-won and Myung-hee are to keep their firm afloat, or Joon-ho is to prove he’s better than Hye-kyung, or… well, let’s just say everyone on this show is very determined.

 
EPISODE 7 RECAP

In the morning, Tae-joon rolls over to discover that the other side of his bed his empty. He looks around for Hye-kyung, but she’s in her room, hanging up her dress. As she does so, she remembers the kiss she shared with Joong-won. Tae-joon assumes last night means she now believes him in, but she avoids his attempt to embrace her as she hurries off to work.

She also apparently stops at a salon along the way, because by the time she arrives at the office, she’s sporting a new set of bangs. Distracted by the images of her “happy family” on her screensaver, she goes to Joong-won’s office. The two of them just stare at each other, neither one able to speak, until Myung-hee interrupts, informing Joong-won they have a visitor.

That visitor is a financial consultant who goes over the various ways M&J can streamline their expenses without having to lay off any of their staff. But Joong-won can’t stop thinking about Hye-kyung and their kiss and he abruptly leaves the meeting, to the surprise of Myung-hee.

Once again, his timing is off — he arrives at Hye-kyung’s office just as she’s leaving. Ahhh, it’s agonizing the way they stare at each other, their eyes full of the words their lips hesitate to say.

Tae-joon plays the phone tap recordings for his lawyer, who wonders how the prosecution office got ahold of it when they weren’t even the ones who tapped the phones. The best guess is Guk-hyun recorded the conversations himself in an effort to have collateral to ruin Tae-joon, but Tae-joon vows that he’ll meet with Guk-hyun before he can become a witness in Tae-joon’s trial. Based purely on the fierce glint in Tae-joon’s eye, I wouldn’t want to be in Guk-hyun’s shoes.

As Joon-ho and Hye-kyung head up the elevator to meet with another lawyer, he cautiously asks her if she had a meeting with Joong-won last night — did they perhaps have an urgent matter to discuss? Hye-kyung denies that it was anything important, but Joon-ho just says that he’s envious of their close friendship. Yeah, friendship.

They’re at another law firm to meet with one of Hye-kyung’s old classmates and fellow lawyer, Jang Dae-suk, but they arrive just in time to see him and boxes of his documents being led away by the police. When they request to see their (suddenly new) client, Prosecutor Baek Min-hyuk introduces himself.

Hye-kyung demands to know why they arrested Dae-suk, and Prosecutor Baek cooly tells her that Dae-suk killed someone. If she wants to know more, she should ask her husband — it happened when Tae-joon was Chief Prosecutor.

Speak of the devil: Tae-joon calls her just then, asking where some real estate documents are. He reveals that Prosecutor Baek’s nickname is “The Butcher,” who ruthlessly and fearlessly investigates all of his cases. He warns her that if he’s involved, it must be something truly terrible, but before she can ask him more about it, she’s escorted in to meet with Dae-suk.

He insists that he never killed anyone, despite what the prosecution says. The body is of a witness from an old embezzlement case who was then put into witness protection, and since Dae-suk was one of the few people who knew who she was and how to find her, he’s a prime suspect. However, Dae-suk admits that someone else knew the witness’ identity — Guk-hyun.

Dan investigates into the identity of Yoo Hyun-jung, the murdered witness, revealing that she used to work for Guk-hyun’s development company as a bookkeeper, and was to be a prime whistle-blower witness against the company until she suddenly disappeared a day before the trial. Then two years later, her body was found.

Other than the fact that Dae-suk was one of the few people who found out the witness’ true identity, the key evidence pointing to him as the murderer are strands of carpet fibers found on her body that match the carpet from the law firm he worked at back then. Myung-hee finds it suspicious that a lawyer would kill someone to try and win a trial, but Hye-kyung suggests that Dae-suk is being used by the prosecution to get the names of who were involved in the case back then.

When it’s revealed that Dae-suk wouldn’t easily be able to afford the lawyer fees, Myung-hee tells them she’ll decide on whether or not they take the case after she discusses it with Joong-won. Dan and Joon-ho both know this means the firm is still struggling financially, and Dan sighs as a couple of men take away the fancy cappuccino maker from the break room. Now they’re just left with cheap coffee from a packet.

Myung-hee and Joong-won aren’t only worried about the cost of taking on a case that may not be financially rewarding, but that this case could possibly put them at odds with their client that does pay them, Guk-hyun. Even though Joong-won, too, is a friend of Dae-suk, they can’t risk losing their largest client, and Joong-won advises that they wait to see if Guk-hyun brings it up first. They can decide who they’ll want to represent then.

Over their cups of packet-coffee, Dan asks Hye-kyung if something has happened between her and Joong-won. They seem more awkward and distant than usual, but Hye-kyung insists that they’re just acting like employee and employer.

Dan’s not buying it, and she warns Hye-kyung that there are lay-offs looming and Hye-kyung should be doing all she can to prove she should stay. After all, everyone else is using Hye-kyung — or at least her notoriety — for their benefit, so why can’t she use someone, too?

Joon-ho tells Joong-won that Dae-suk has asked that M&J take on his clients until his own case is sorted out. Joon-ho’s a pretty smooth talker as he neatly convinces Joong-won that he should be able to take on Dae-suk’s role in a railway union case (the case he and Hye-kyung were originally planning to meet with Dae-suk in the first place).

At home, Tae-joon thinks back to his wife’s recent hot-and-cold behavior towards him. The doorbell rings, and it’s Prosecutor Park. Interesting.

Hye-kyung stops by Jong-won’s office to let him know she’s leaving a little early to be with her family since tomorrow is Tae-joon’s trial. She then hesitatingly brings up the subject of what happened last night. Taking the blame for what happened, she asks that they not speak of it again.

He wonders if it’s just because she’s married, but she counters that it’s because she doesn’t want to lose his friendship. He points out that she wouldn’t lose him — if anything, they’d grow even closer. He’s about to make a sincere confession when she cuts him off, telling him she likes being a lawyer and working at M&J. For the first time, she feels like she’s finding herself through her work.

He’s her boss and she’s his employee, and she doesn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize her career. He admits that he also likes having her at M&J, so he agrees to not speak of the kiss again. As she walks away, Hye-kyung reassures herself that she did the right thing. Yet somehow neither seem that happy about it.

Joon-ho pops into Joong-won’s office, using the excuse that his request for a company loan to help pay his student loans was denied in order to confirm that M&J is having financial trouble. He also confirms that he’s still competing for a job at the firm

Over a family dinner, Ji-hoon asks his father if he can go to the trial tomorrow and be a character witness. Seo-yeon worries that Tae-joon will go straight to jail if he loses the trial, but he reassures them that he’ll definitely win and they’ll see him for dinner tomorrow night.

Sitting in her bedroom, Hye-kyung can’t stop thinking about Joong-won’s gentle declaration that they won’t talk about what happened. She’s shaken from her revery by a knock at the door, and Tae-joon enters and sits down next to her on the bed. He asks if he’s sleeping there to night, hint hint, but she shrugs him off, telling him she’s tired.

But as he leaves her bedroom, he remembers the condoms he found in her dresser when he was looking for the real estate documents. Clenching his fist in sudden anger, he imagines her sleeping with Joon-ho. It’s eerily reminiscent to how Hye-kyung imagined him sleeping with Amber.

Hye-kyung suddenly recalls Dae-suk’s murder case, and asks Tae-joon what he remembers about Guk-hyun’s embezzlement case. Thanks to the witness conveniently going missing, Guk-hyun was declared innocent. When she asks if he knows anything about the witness being murdered, he promises that he doesn’t, reiterating that he never took bribes from Guk-hyun.

In the morning, Hye-kyung carefully applies her makeup and studies her elaborate engagement ring before pulling it out of the box and slipping it on her finger. But when Tae-joon calls for her, asking if she’s ready to go the courthouse, she puts it back in the box.

They arrive at the courthouse and are immediately surrounded by journalists shouting questions and cameras taking hundreds of photos. But the couple stoically ignores them as they walk hand-in-hand up the steps. The judge is an old friend of Tae-joon, who seems more interested in the fame this case will bring him than anything else, although he promises that he’ll judge fairly.

During his trial, Tae-joon gives a passionate and eloquent speech, confessing that he’s a sinner for cheating on his wife. He takes the blame for pain this trial will cause his family, but he is also determined to spend his life making it up to them.

Joong-won is just leaving his office when he runs into Driver Kang, who was dropping off a package for Hye-kyung, courtesy of Guk-hyun. Joong-won investigates the package to discover that the shopping bag is packed full of cash.

Tae-joon’s lawyer requests that they put Tae-joon back on the stand, since there is more evidence that couldn’t be revealed originally. Tae-joon testifies about the development complex, revealing that he suspected permits were granted illegally. When he investigated it, he discovered that the development company was using a paper company, Triton Fields, to launder slush funds.

But he didn’t charge them then, knowing they only had evidence of minor crime. This was corruption that went deeper, and when he found proof that a high-ranking politician was somehow involved, Chief Prosecutor Choi told him to stop investigating. Because he refused to stop, he was then arrested for supposedly taking bribes himself.

He originally didn’t testify about this because he was worried the prosecution would go after his family. But now he’s decided to stand and fight. He looks over at Hye-kyung, declaring that he has the strength now, knowing his family believes in him.

Chief Prosecutor Choi’s cross-examination focuses on Tae-joon’s sexual relations with Amber, which Tae-joon’s lawyer protests is irrelevant but Chief Prosecutor Choi insists the bribes are directly related. Hye-kyung receives a text from Joong-won, asking her to call him as soon as he can. She slips out of the courtroom as Chief Prosecutor Choi shouts after her his accusations that Tae-joon slept with Amber more than once.

Joong-won wants to know why Driver Kang delivered a bag with a hundred million won in cash (approximately $100,000), asking her to use it for Dae-suk’s trial. She’s about to tell him she hasn’t heard from Guk-hyun, but that’s because he’s waiting for her at the courthouse. He greets her cheerfully, asking how her husband’s trial is going.

Super investigator Dan has discovered that the money is a personal request from Guk-hyun, who is willing to pay them under the table. But Joong-won says that they’ll count it as part of his (taxable) legal fees, and Joon-ho offers to take on Dae-suk’s case provided Myung-hee approves.

Hye-kyung and Guk-hyun sit in the backseat of his parked car as he explains that he doesn’t understand why everyone is accusing Dae-suk. He’s paying her in cash so no one — especially the prosecutors — will know that he came to her for help. She has one question for him, though: did he kill Yoo Hyun-jung?

He suddenly leans in and smiles, admitting that he did it. Her testimony would have affected too many people, so he had to make sure it didn’t happen. But since Hye-kyung is his lawyer, that means she has to keep his confession confidential. Guk-hyun admits that Dae-suk is innocent of sharing information, too — Guk-hyun found out the witness’ new identity from someone else. He laughs when she asks who it is, telling her he should just make sure he’s found innocent. Like her husband.

Meanwhile, Tae-joon’s lawyer tells him that they need Hye-kyung standing by his side if they’re to win the trial and override the scandal. He calls her, only to be surprised to see her emerge from Guk-hyun’s car. As he drives off, Guk-hyun leans out the window, shouting his support for Tae-joon’s innocence. It’s almost a taunt.

Hye-kyung marches into the M&J office, requesting Myung-hee give her Guk-hyun (or, rather, Dae-suk’s) case. Joon-ho smirks as he reveals that he’s already been assigned to the case, reminding her that she’s too busy with her family and husband’s trial to take on another.

Myung-hee agrees with Joon-ho, but Hye-kyung persists, insisting that her husband’s trial is his problem, and that she’ll be sure to win this case if Myung-hee just gives her a chance. It looks like Hye-kyung won her argument, and the now case-less Joon-ho watches in silent frustration as she orders Dan to help her track down information about Hyun-jung’s murder.

In his office, Joon-ho picks up Hye-kyung’s brooch he found in Joong-won’s office, and his frustration turns to smiles as he realizes the bargaining chip he now holds. He returns to Myung-hee’s office to update her about the railway case that he took over from Dae-suk, adding a little passive-aggressive reminder that he was prepared for Dae-suk’s murder case, too.

He then cautiously brings up his hypothesis that Hye-kyung has romantic feelings for Joong-won, but Myung-hee abruptly cuts him off before he can explain what he saw the other night. She tells him that it’s none of his business, adding that he should continue his work and not focus on others. But it looks like she’s been having her own suspicions about Hye-kyung and Joong-won, too.

Dan confronts Joon-ho, warning him that it won’t do him any good to win the job competition by bragging about himself and putting down Hye-kyung. Myung-hee doesn’t like tattletales. He’s a hard-working lawyer, and he should be more focused on the fact that he’s doing well in his work insteads of paying attention to what everyone else is doing.

He starts to point out that Hye-kyung uses her connections to get what she wants, but Dan shuts him down. She reveals that even though Hye-kyung could have it easier if she relied on her personal connections, she chooses the harder path of proving herself through her work and talent.

On the drive home, Tae-joon calls Guk-hyun, telling him they need to meet.

As Hye-kyung is about to drive home as well, Joong-won intercepts her in the parking garage. She wonders what he’ll do if she has to accuse Guk-hyun as the murderer in her attempt to prove Dae-suk’s innocence. She knows that it won’t help the firm’s image — or bottom line. But she’s willing to do whatever it takes.

Tae-joon gets a text from Guk-hyun — it’s a picture of Hye-kyung and Joong-won talking in the parking garage, and even though they’re just talking business, it’s implied that they look awfully cosy for just being coworkers.

Myung-hee demands that they decide right now which of the new hires they will keep. Joong-won is willing to wait, though, because if they let someone go, it might be difficult for that person to find another job right away. She snidely asks her brother if he’s just waiting for Tae-joon’s trial to be over so he can have a chance with Hye-kyung, and Joong-won agrees they’ll make a decision about which new hire they’ll keep by next week.

Hye-kyung returns home, surprised to discover that Tae-joon has gone to church. He’s sitting in the near-empty sanctuary with his lawyer, but he’s also constantly checking his watch. When it’s time, he walks out of the sanctuary up a flight of stairs to the roof where Guk-hyun is waiting for him. He tells Tae-joon that the prosecutors are breathing down his neck thanks to Hyun-jung’s murder, but Tae-joon calmly tells him he has nothing to do with that case. Oh, but that’s not how Guk-hyun remembers it.

Hye-kyung arrives at the church only to find Driver Kang keeping watch in the hallway. He’s shocked to see her, too, advising that she leave, but his glance up the stairs reveals where his boss might be. Hye-kyung knows that she’ll find her husband there, too, and even though Driver Kang calls after to stay there, she begins to ascend the stairs.

As much as Guk-hyun wants Tae-joon to return to his position as Chief Prosecutor, he wants even more that his name be removed from any association with Tae-joon’s trial. Tae-joon advances a step, asking if the reason Guk-hyun went to see Hye-kyung this morning was just to provoke Tae-joon. He insists it’s just because Tae-joon keeps telling him what a great lawyer she is, so he just wants her to represent him. Then he brings up the picture he sent Tae-joon, reminding him that his men are watching her 24-7.

In response, Tae-joon punches him in the face, sending him flying to the ground. Furious, he grabs the gangster by the collar, leaning him over the railing of the building as he tells Guk-hyun to leave Hye-kyung alone. Guk-hyun just points out that it must mean Hye-kyung is important to him, and if Tae-joon loses the trial, he’ll lose her, too.

Then he looks over and calls out Hye-kyung’s name, which gets Tae-joon to release him and drop him back on the roof. Hye-kyung stares at the bloodied Guk-hyun as Tae-joon steps forward towards her. In disgust, she turns to leave, but Tae-joon grabs her wrist, begging for a chance to explain.

She waves him off as she leaves, telling him to just do whatever he likes. Angry, Tae-joon tells Guk-hyun that their conversation is over — he can go to the prosecutors and tell them whatever he wants.

Alone in her car, Hye-kyung starts to cry. Tae-joon returns to his spot next his lawyer, who notes Tae-joon’s bloodied shirtsleeve. But Tae-joon just stares straight ahead at the preacher.

Dan delivers reports on Dae-suk’s case to Joong-won. She notes that he’s distracted, asking him what he’s thinking about. He tells her he’s pondering his emotions — calculating the risks, wondering what would happen if he acted the way he wanted, knowing that he never will for fear of what would happen.

Seductively leaning over him, she asks if he wants to feel something. Then she stomps on his foot — how does thatfeel? Joong-won: “Painful.” As she saunters away, Dan tells him he should act decisively — even if it hurts, at least he’ll know.

Hye-kyung sits on her bed, flipping through the contacts on her phone. She stops when she sees Joong-won’s name but she doesn’t call him. She doesn’t need to, because her phone rings and it’s Joong-won.

Tae-joon arrives home just in time to hear her agree to meet Joong-won. He demands to know where she’s going, but she tells him that she doesn’t expect him to tell her where he’s going, so he shouldn’t expect her to tell him either. He insists that he met with Guk-hyun to protect her, but she doesn’t consider him lying about what he’s doing and hitting people to be very honorable actions.

She tells him that whenever she looks at him, it makes her feel tired and guilty. As she leaves the house, she wonders why they still have to live together. Tae-joon hurries after her, asking if she’s found someone else to take his place. Annoyed, she asks if he would forgive her for sleeping with another man just because he slept with another women.

He insists it isn’t like that — he just wants to be able to trust her. But Hye-kyung tells him not to bother, adding that she doesn’t trust him, either.

As she enters the elevator to ride down to the parking garage, Tae-joon asks her what will happen to them if she leaves like this. But she just wearily wonders if they even have a future. He races down to the parking garage to stand in front of the car, preventing her from leaving. But as soon as he walks to the driver’s side to talk to her, she drives away.

COMMENTS

All the crackling chemistry between Jeon Do-yeon and her two leading men is driving me insane, but, like, the good insane where I just want something to happen. Anything to happen. I just need this tension to finally be relieved! I’m not even sure who I’m rooting for, unless it’s Hye-kyung. To be fair it’s probably always going to be Hye-kyung, because she is incredible and I love her new hair.

I feel like I ought to mention that in the American series, Alicia’s hair was also nearly a character in its own right, and she got bangs in the third season. Which was also the season where things began to, ah, heat up, and so I’m even more anxious because if this show is being loyal to the original in terms of hairstyle, then these bangs mean more than just Hye-kyung taking a new, firmer stance on how she controls her life. She’s no longer just the housewife-turned-lawyer who’s trying to make ends meet for her family — she’s now proving that she’s a good lawyer and worth something beyond the recognition her name gives her. And I love it (and her amazing hot pink stilettos!).

This show started out good but each week it gets better and better, and more and more compelling as I’m drawn into each little detail. There are so many important glances, expressions, music cues, use of shadow and light and color — everything feels like it has meaning and importance, grounding each character in not just who they appear to be, but also who they really are under their facades. Because it’s not just Hye-kyung hiding behind her mask, appearing to be the “good wife” for the cameras and for the sake of her husband’s trial, yet in private revealing herself to be the hurt, angry, passionate woman she truly is (and can we blame her?).

Tae-joon has his mask of being the wrongly persecuted prosecutor, who faltered once, but for his love of his family promises to never do it again (yeah, right). Joong-won is the ruthless shark of a lawyer who must hide his pining for Hye-kyung. Joon-ho appears to be the “perfect son” type who cheerfully does whatever his bosses ask, staying late to finish up his work and eager to prove himself — but he’s also fearlessly manipulative, even if it doesn’t get him as far as he would like. Dan is still an enigma, but that is likely because her mask is stronger than the others on purpose. And then there’s Myung-hee, who’s holding this firm together despite her brother mucking things up, and honestly I’m not sure what mask she’s wearing but maybe if she got a little more screentime, I could figure it out (please, show; we’re already halfway through — let me have more Myung-hee!).

 
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